


The Art of Frosting Roses

by ShatteredFrameofMind



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, I swear this will be fluffy despite the setting, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ruby is a glorified security guard, Weiss is heiress actually, because food is as important as weapons when your country is torn apart by a civil war, brief JNPR appearance, industrial bakery au, just go with it, the schnees own baking factories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-06-05 09:51:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6700111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShatteredFrameofMind/pseuds/ShatteredFrameofMind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruby tilted her head to the side in thought.  The tone used by Mr Schnee made it obvious that these weren’t his words, and that he didn’t believe them himself.  Chances were he was reading them directly from an e-mail from Winter, thus explaining why his eyes kept shifting towards his computer.  Also, it was highly probable he was only telling Ruby in the hopes of getting on Winter’s good side again.  Winter herself, though, would never make light of something like this, which meant it was probably true.</p><p>Nevertheless, Ruby’s mind was already made.</p><p>“Oh, of course Mr Schnee!  Don’t you worry, I’ll be the very best friend Weiss could ever hope to have!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea dancing in the back of my mind for FOREVER, it's a bit surreal to finally share it with everyone... ^-^'

 

Here was the thing about sunrises: they were rarely a good indication of whether the coming day would be a good one or not.  Regardless, the one that morning was particularly beautiful.  Sadly, as with most sunrises, there weren’t many who were up to witness it.

One who did however, was the young huntress assigned as lookout to the Schnee Baking Company factory.  Her name was Ruby Rose, and she was currently sitting on the railing of her lookout tower, wrapped in several layers of thick wool and blankets.  Her legs were kicking slightly as she sipped from her mug of mocha and exhaled clouds of steam.  The air was still filled with leftover chilliness from the day before, but the sun was already bright.  Ruby could practically feel the warmth of its rays on her face.

Just at that moment, Ruby was dragged back to reality as the walkie-talkie at her side crackled to life.  Then there was her boss’ voice, muted by static:

“ _ Lookout?  Lookout, do you copy _ ?”

Ruby shifted her mug to her other hand, and extracted her arm from the blankets to answer:

“Mister Schnee, sir?  This is Lookout, I copy.”

She internally debated for a few seconds, before adding:  “Good morning.”

She’d worked as the bakery’s lookout for, what now, about a year?  And still she struggled with saying the right thing, with sounding official and polite enough.  Luckily for her, she was the best in her class, and anyone older had to work to protect the island’s borders from potential invaders: in other words, the bakery needed her, and so she technically could not be fired...   That didn’t mean she allowed herself to take the chance though.

“ _ Yes, good morning.  Once you are ready, could you please come meet me in my office?  Something has come up on which you should be briefed _ .”

Ruby clutched at her walkie-talkie, trying to figure out what could be meant by this.  When nothing that wasn’t completely paranoid came to her, she answered:

“Uhm, sure, okay?  I’ll set up Penny and I’ll be right there.”

There was silence on the other end, which either meant that he agreed, or that he hadn’t heard her.  She wasn’t the best at communication, but neither was he, so it was fine.

Ruby swung her legs back on the floor side of the railing and slid off, picking up the blankets surrounding her along with her now-drained mug of coffee and the walkie-talkie.

The inside of the watchtower was basically a one-room apartment minus the bathroom.  In one corner was the hammock she slept in, and in the other was a small work table paired with a loaded bookshelf.   One side of the room was dedicated to a kitchenette, and large windows spanned every wall.  The middle of the room was empty save for a single computer, itself attached to an antenna so long it went past the ceiling.  At the end, Ruby knew, was an articulated camera enhanced with heat sensor and movement detection.

Once Ruby was done changing out of her pyjamas and into her everyday clothes, she walked over to the computer and brought it to life with the press of a button.  The darkness of the screen was chased away with the sound of a musical jingle, before a voice spoke from the device’s speakers:

“Salutations!”

This of course, was the standard greeting for this particular brand of AI.  However, its voice was definitely not standard.  After playing around with the vocal software while bored, Ruby had managed to make the computer sound that much more enthusiastic about everything it said…  And then of course, Ruby had to give them a proper nickname.

“Hey, Penny!  Sorry for booting you back up just after I put you in sleep mode…  But Mister Schnee wanted to talk to me, so do you think you’ll be okay for a few more minutes?”

“Your concern is much appreciated, but I will be fine!  I have energy left for at least thirty more minutes!”

“Alright, well I’ll have my Scroll with me, just in case, okay?  Don’t hesitate!”

“Will do, friend!”

So maybe Ruby had asked them to call her “friend”.  It wasn’t weird.  Having them call her by her name would be weird.

Regardless, she stepped back outside onto her balcony, opened the safety gate, and started descending the ladder until she reached the roof of the factory.

Indeed, Ruby’s watchtower was built on top of the factory building, so as to grant her the best overall view of the surrounding area.  In case of an emergency requiring her to reach the ground floor quickly, steel cables Ruby could zipline connected the tower to the ground at a decent angle.

To Ruby, that was the main perk of her job.  True, it consisted of a lot of doing nothing, but once in awhile it was her responsibility to clash in epic battle with monsters of Grimm.  Overall, the biggest downside was the almost-constant aloneness, made even worse by the thought that just a few dozen meters below her hundreds of people were milling about their daily lives.

As any major rooftops, this one could be accessed by a stairwell.  Of course, Ruby usually used said stairwell the other way (mostly to use the private washroom provided to her), but then again she was by far a minority.

The walk to Mister Schnee’s office was uneventful, albeit punctuated by Ruby checking her Scroll every few minutes.  It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Penny, it was just that the latter’s assessments of battery-life tended to not be completely accurate.  Again, it wasn’t mistrust: Ruby literally trusted Penny with her life every single night.  Even lookouts had to sleep, after all.  Just as even the most high-tech security AIs needed electrical power, which Penny could never get fully.  It wasn’t that the factory was too cheap to afford enough electricity, it was just that the factory spent most of its electricity on what it was built for: baking.  And so, on workdays, Penny had to spend the day charging through her solar panels while Ruby served as lookout.  On weekends, everyone went home and Penny had full access to the electric lines, capable of powering a small army of guard bots in extreme emergency.

Regardless, the moment Ruby knocked on her boss’ door, his voice resonated from within:

“Come in.”

Ruby did.

Mister Schnee’s office was the most organized room she’d ever seen.  Everything had a proper place, and every place had a proper thing, right down to the man on his chair.  The entire back wall of the office was a floor-to-ceiling window giving view to the complicated catwalks, conveyor belts, mechanical arms, robots, ovens, and humans necessary to the process of mass bread and pastry making.  From this distance, the whole thing kinda looked like the largest and most efficient ant colony ever.

Mister Schnee designated the empty chair in front of his desk:

“Please sit down.”

Ruby did.

The room was silent, except for the ticking clock on the wall, the occasional rustle of paper, and the ever-present hum of the factory beneath them.

“Uhm, mister Schnee, sir?  A-am I in trouble?”  Nervousness led Ruby’s voice to crack slightly around the words.

As if he’d just remembered she was there, Mister Schnee looked up, answered:

“No, no.  Don’t worry Lookout, it’s nothing of the sort.”

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief.  But before she could ask what this was actually about then, he spoke again:

“The Atlesian factory was bombed.”

The news hit like a slap in the face.

“Wait, what?  Seriously?  Is everyone okay?!?

“Yes, thankfully.  The stationed Lookout had noticed enemy airships incoming, and warned everyone to evacuate just in time.  However, several pieces of equipment were severely damaged, and I must travel to the scene and…  Assess the damage.  Possibly survey the replacing process.”

“...Right, yeah.”  The Patch factory may be the biggest and most productive of the Schnee Baking Company factories, and therefore required the most attention from the CEO, but the corporate headquarters were technically in Atlas.  Ruby was pretty sure Mister Schnee attended 75% of his business meetings through video conference.

Presently, Mister Schnee had fallen silent.  He seemed to be staring into the circuits of his computer, and then:

“And so, my daughter will be there to overlook the factory in my absence.”

“Oh, Ms Winter?”

Winter had looked over the factory before.  Despite giving off a strong aura of militaristic authority, she was also surprisingly caring, and had made it a point of having saying greeting everyone at least once every day.

“No, not Winter,”  He said, sounding mildly disappointed himself:  “She’s been enormously busy, ever since she’s been  _ promoted _ , and can no longer afford the time to be here.”  Mr Schnee used the word “promoted” like it burned his tongue.  From the tiny bit Ruby had managed to glimpse of the Schnee family lifestyle, Winter joining the military had been met with great frustration from her father, whom had likely expected her to work in the family business and eventually take his place as CEO.

“...Then, who will it be?  Uh, sir?

“My youngest.  Weiss.”

Silence.

“Oh.  ...I didn’t know you had a second daughter.”

Mr Schnee waved his hand:

“I didn’t expect you to.  She’s just a bit older than you, and still hasn’t finished school, so it’s not like she has any real reputation in the world…  Or at least, not yet.”

He turned back to his computer, and the air turned awkward once more.  Again, Ruby wondered what exactly was on that monitor to make her usually composed boss seem so nervous.

He sighed once more, and continued talking:

“Listen.  Winter contacted me this morning, and heavily insisted I tell you that she believes Weiss to be…  Lonely.  That she needs more friends, or something along those lines.”

Ruby tilted her head to the side in thought.  The tone used by Mr Schnee made it obvious that these weren’t his words, and that he didn’t believe them himself.  Chances were he was reading them directly from an e-mail from Winter, thus explaining why his eyes kept shifting towards his computer.  Also, it was highly probable he was only telling Ruby in the hopes of getting on Winter’s good side again.  Winter herself, though, would never make light of something like this, which meant it was probably true.

Nevertheless, Ruby’s mind was already made.  Mr Schnee was still going on about how ridiculous of a notion it was for Weiss to have friends, that she was already busy enough with her studies, when Ruby interrupted with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm:

“Oh, of course Mr Schnee!  Don’t you worry, I’ll be the very best friend Weiss could ever hope to have!!!”

Mr Schnee cleared his throat:

“I’ll let Winter know, then.”

Ruby nodded happily, before remembering the true matter at hand.

“Pardon me sir, but when  _ will  _ Weiss arrive, exactly?”

“This afternoon.”

“Oh.”  That was surprisingly soon.  “Then when will you be leaving?”

“Now.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things don't start off on the right foot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took awhile, but I am back! Hello!
> 
> To reward you guys' patience, this chapter ended up being much longer than I'd planned. And actual story stuff happens! Yay!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

 

 

By the time Ruby had climbed back up her tower and turned off Penny, the sun had well risen, and Mr Schnee was already outside, surrounded by the honorary huntsmen and huntresses who would serve as his escort.  Even with the distance between the top of her tower and the ground, there was something about them that struck the young girl as rather familiar.  Were they, perhaps,former Signal students?  A quick glance through her binoculars confirmed it; the escort was composed of four graduates whom she’d befriended in the past, namely Jaune, Nora, Pyhrra, and Ren.  Or team JNPR, as they liked to call themselves, although it was far from official.

Technically speaking, there had been no new official teams, or even new official huntsmen and huntresses, in what was now about four years.  This was because it was at that point in time that the White Fang had proven themselves to be truly dangerous, specifically by attempting a violent attack on Beacon Academy.  All surviving students had been sent back home, and the school had been turned into one of the largest military bases in the kingdom.

Ever since then, the student population at Signal had grown, along with the general population of Patch.  As a literal island of peace, it was the best place for young people to get an education (either general or battle-oriented) or for housing other vulnerable people such as the sick and the elderly, who were too at risk on the mainland but refused to move to the neighbouring kingdoms.

Despite these circumstances, many young students clung to the idea of battle teams and the traditional roles of huntsmen and huntresses as workers of peace and protection.  Although there were more available jobs for single huntsmen or huntresses, several unofficial teams, usually formed of four close friends, had started popping up all over the island.  Amateur teams having proved their fighting skills and kept a strong bond of camaraderie, would often take up the business of warrior-team-for-hire.  As was tradition, the teams were the ones who chose which jobs (if there were any) that they would take on, and should a certain task prove to be too much, it was their responsibility to alert authorities.  JNPR, was one such amateur team, and though their overall reputation wasn’t the greatest, Pyhrra herself was widely recognized as one of the most skilled huntresses on Patch.  Maybe even in all of Vale.

“HEEY!”  Yelled Ruby to the team far below, even as she lowered her binoculars and used her other hand to wave.

Far below, a scraggly blond boy jumped at the yell and looked around confused, before catching sight of her.  Jaune probably smiled (Ruby couldn’t really tell from this far without the binoculars), before he returned her wave.  The three others followed his line of sight and sent their own greetings: an enthusiastic shield-arm wave from Pyhrra, a quiet subtle one from Ren, and a “HEY RUBY HOW YOU DOIN’” from Nora.

Ruby laughed at the graduate’s boisterousness, before answering, just as loudly:

“I’M FINE HOW ABOUT YOU?”

“I’M SWELL!  WE’RE ABOUT TO-”

Nora fell quiet mid-shout the moment Ren leaned closer, seemingly saying something to her.  A few seconds later, Ruby’s scroll pinged:

 

 **Nora:** _REN SAID TO STOP YELLING_

 

Ruby chuckled and yelled back:  “REN’S NOT THE BOSS OF ME!”

At this, what looked like a furious discussion seemed to have broken out between the escorts below.  Mr Schnee looked very tired already.  Likely, he’d only really wanted Pyhrra along, but as it was the redhead only agreed to take up jobs if her teammates came too.

Ruby’s scroll pinged again:

 

 **Nora:** _Ren said you’re a poophead_

 **Ruby:** _I’m pretty sure Ren would never use that word :p_

 

Nora answered again, but pointedly ignored Ruby’s last text:

 

 **Nora:** _Today we’re escorting that Schnee guy!  It’s gonna be way more fun than stupid lookout duty!_

 **Ruby:** _I’ll have you know that I happen to like my job :p  Anyway be careful out there!  Don’t get lost!_

 **Nora:** \ _(^o^)/_

 

Ruby couldn’t help but chuckle.  She hadn’t seen Nora in a while, and her overwhelming enthusiasm was a breath of fresh air compared to the usual factory staff.  Not that they were boring or anything, the place simply happened to require a certain officiality that Ruby could never quite get the hang of.  They were also busy at all times, which made having meaningful conversations and making lifelong friends kind of difficult.

Looking down again, Mr Schnee had finally gotten the team’s attention, and seemed to be briefing them on the importance of the mission, as well as assigning roles to each of them.  Their vehicle, disguised as a supply truck, had arrived and was being packed with the CEO’s belongings just a little ways off.  They would surely be leaving soon, down the one road to the town, snaking through a thick forest.

This was the direct cause of Patch’s duality.  It wasn’t war-torn like the mainland, but the thick forests were infested with creatures of Grimm.  The factory on one side, the town on the other, divided by forest.  Having them close to each other would be near-suicide, as it would further attract focus  Grimm attacks.  Evidently, this didn’t come without it’s disadvantages; the only way to travel from one side to the other was a single, gravel road.  Since said road cut right through the forest, every precaution had to be taken to traverse it safely, even for such simple things as flour deliveries, or as high-stake as moving the CEO from one point to the next.  Still, it was specifically because of this isolated position that the Patch factory was as big and effective as it was, and this was why Mr Schnee stayed there instead of the main Atlesian factory.

The CEO and his escorts had finished loading the truck now, and soon Ruby was able to watch them disappear between the trees.  She stayed there a bit longer, blankly staring, hoping for the safety of her friends, before she sighed and figured she might as well get breakfast.

* * *

 

The factory had now gone 12 hours without a resident Schnee supervisor.  It wasn’t the longest time, by far, but from up on her perch Ruby couldn’t help but feel a little worried.  What if Weiss’ aircraft had crashed?  Air-travel wasn’t always the safest, especially with the war going on…  Maybe weather conditions in Atlas had postponed her leaving?  Or maybe the Grimm had gotten to her?  They’d been relatively quiet today, maybe it was because they’d all gathered around her wrecked vehicle…  No, Ruby shouldn’t dwell on this.  The youngest Schnee heiress WOULD arrive.  Eventually.  Probably.

Ruby tried to distract herself from her dark thoughts by instead wondering what said heiress would be like.  She probably had white hair, neatly cut and combed, if it was anything like Winter’s.  Since she was allegedly around Ruby’s age, she imagined Weiss would be around her height, maybe just a bit taller.  She was bound to have a weapon, likely something high-tech and expensive with somewhat of a dramatic flair.  Did she double-wield, like Winter?  Or did she prefer guns, like her father?  Would she be like the snooty rich Atlas girls uncle Qrow liked to make fun of?  Or would she have Winter’s calm calculating composure, which Qrow also made fun of?  

Just then, her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a noise, the sound of which suspiciously resembled an explosion, resonating from the forest.  Ruby immediately sprung to her feet, and turned to face it…  Or well, she turned to her best guess as to the direction it came from.  Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to have come out of the forest line yet, but Ruby made sure to stand by her zipline just to make sure.  Often-times, it was better to stay on her lookout tower until the enemy came into view.  Until then, there was no guarantee she’d drop in the right place.  However she did unfold her scythe, just enough that she could use it to shoot: that way she might be able to snipe a few if there ended up being too many to drop right away.

As suddenly as a strike of thunder, out they came.  A handful of people, and a single individual in all-white, surely the Schnee heiress they’d been awaiting.  They weren’t alone for long though, as a pack of seven beowolves burst through the treeline,  hot on their heels.  Ruby immediately opened fire.

The group of people were running towards the entrance, occasionally shooting an attack behind them, in an attempt to keep the creatures at bay.  The pack barely reacted and kept following, every step drawing them nearer to the factory.  Ruby’s battle-driven instincts pointed out that it would be best for her to drop soon, so as to slow the Grimm and allow the heiress and her guards to enter as safely as possible.

Soon.

Not quite yet…

Now.

Ruby swung her scythe perpendicularly over her cable, and with a motion devoid of hesitation solely because it was practiced, she launched herself off her roof.  She slid down the metallic wire for exactly four seconds, before letting herself fall to the ground, her scythe completely unfolding in the process.

The heiress and her escort parted around her, like a river around a rock, but hesitated in their tracks once they were past her, turning back with panic in their eyes.

“Leave it to me!”  Cried Ruby, sounding confident mostly for their sake:  “This is my job, you guys get in!”

The Schnee girl and her guards seemed uncertain for an instant, but then quickly dashed into the building as she’d instructed.

Now that the other people were safe, Ruby could shift her entire focus on the approaching beowolves, no longer needing to hold back.  Some of them had slowed somewhat (likely the elders of their pack) when faced with the tiny human’s apparent confidence.  The other five remained oblivious, and ran straight towards her.  

Their mistake would cost them dearly.

Right from her first swing, Ruby became a veritable whirlwind of  bullets, blade, and red.  Her shots added force to her  maneuvers, enough to cut clean through one of her foes.  She flung herself to the next Grimm, her blade catching it by the neck.  A pull of the trigger, and that one too fell, head rolling.

Beowolves were fearsome creatures, but they were also highly social, and did not take kindly to the killing of their packmates.  And so, their attempts to attack redoubled…  But that’s all they were, attempts.  Because how could they hope to hit her, if their eyes were barely fast enough to keep track of the rose petals in her trail?  The answer was that they couldn’t, and the one that tried was promptly sliced to pieces.

At this point, some of the other creatures turned to flee, and Ruby was the one to pursue.  Despite the high battle endurance she’d come to develop, she was already starting to feel the effects of physical fatigue.  It was better when faced with an abundance of enemies to kill them as fast as humanly (or, in Ruby’s case, superhumanly) possible, so as to avoid attracting more of them.

She jumped, and landed on the trailing beowolf’s back, in which she planted her blade, the better to shoot at the leader of the pack.  It perished on impact, and the beowolves slowed allowing Ruby to fight them three to one.  

It was a matter of a few seconds.  The first fell when she launched herself off of it, along with its head.  The second was cut in half from behind from the force of her gunshots, and the third was impaled by the shaft of her scythe.  She pushed him off with her foot, and shot him twice more for good measure.

Her breathing was heavy by now, but she made sure to do a quick look-over, just in case she’d missed one, or that one of them was still moving.  

There were seven bodies.  None of them were moving, but all were slowly starting to disintegrate into clouds of black dust.  Her job here was done.

It was only then that she allowed herself to relax, put away her weapon, and take a whole minute to catch her breath, hands on her knees.  Once her heart had finally calmed from the exertion, Ruby headed back to the factory.

“It’s all good!”  She yelled as she stepped inside:  “I took care of it!  They’re all dead!”

Regular employees visibly relaxed as she walked in.  Ruby appreciated their concern, even if it wasn’t necessary, especially when it was obvious they felt it each time she had to fight.  She’d dealt with things such as this before, and she would again.  It was her job, after all!

The lookout’s focus centered on the cluster of employees and Atlas soldiers discussing in loud voices, at the center of which stood the one who could only be Weiss Schnee.

They’d only glanced at each other in passing earlier, and now that there was no longer a pack of beowolves breathing down her back, Ruby took the chance to actually look at her now.  Somehow, she appeared both exactly how Ruby had expected, and entirely different.  Her hair was indeed frost-white, but curled, and tied crookedly on her head.  While pristine, her clothes were a far cry from any sort of military garb.  At her hip hung a dust-revolving rapier, a mixture of old-fashioned elegance and modern technology (which Ruby was proud of having entirely predicted).

“Are all of you okay?”  Ruby asked, walking closer to them:  “What happened?”

The young girl’s pace reflexively slowed as the entire group, including the heiress, turned to face her.  And it was then that Ruby noticed Weiss’ more striking feature: a scar, pink and jagged and on the left side of her face, carving from her forehead to her cheek.  It was so out of place, considering the rest of her appearance, and her aura of haughty nobility, that Ruby barely heard Weiss answering:

“We were attacked by Grimm, what did you expect?!?”

...Well that sounded a little harsh. So Ruby’s question hadn’t been phrased right, she was concerned, and the layer of sarcasm seemed a little much.  “S-sorry, what I meant was…  How?  Did the Grimm overturn the car?”  

At the very least, Weiss also seemed to take notice of her own tone, and backed off somewhat.  With an exhale, but still with a slight edge of impatience,she elaborated:

“Yes.  They appeared out of nowhere, and pushed our vehicle over.  We were lucky to be about more than halfway there, so we managed to run here just fine.”

“Oh.  Well that is really lucky.  Not many people can say that they outran the Grimm!”

Or well.  “Not many people” included her, so it wasn’t her claim to make.  But still, the circumstances were a little odd.  Grimm didn’t usually attack vehicles, unless they provoked somehow.  

Suddenly, it struck Ruby that this conversation they were having, her and Weiss, was probably one of the worst first verbal exchanges ever held.  What in the hell was Weiss supposed to answer to that?  Oh god, Ruby hadn’t even introduced herself yet!  Fighting monsters was one thing, but socializing?  With other people?!?  That she’d never met before?!?!?  Inconceivable.

“ANYWAYS, uh…  My name is Ruby Rose, I’m the-”

“Lookout, yes, I’m aware.  Based on what I’d heard of you, I’d expected to be less underwhelmed, but it appears you are doing fine.”

The tension in the air was almost palpable…  Or maybe tension wasn’t exactly the word.  Awkward as she was, Ruby was doing her best to be friendly and open, while Weiss was clearly establishing a cold wall of indifference.  As it was, this emotion-based siege was going nowhere.

But before she took her leave…

“I killed seven of them.”

“...Right, so?”

“I have to tell you, because I get a bonus pay for every Grimm I kill.  It’s basically protocol that I tell you the number.”

Weiss’ eyes widened, and then darted away nervously:  “O-of course!  I kn-”

“You’re still learning the rules, I understand,”  Interrupted Ruby, tone patient.  “I don’t think anyone doing this for the first time would know them any better.  If you need a reminder, there’s a direct line to me on your desk.  Honestly if you have any question at all, just ask me.  I want to help.”

There was a beat of silence, and it struck Ruby that what she said could be taken as extremely presumptuous, maybe even patronizing.  The verbal backtracking began immediately:

“Not!  That I don’t think you can’t figure it out on your own!  Err, wait…  I _do_ think!  That you can!  And I’m sure you’ve got, like, advisors and stuff, who know way more than me about managing things…  And such…  Deals...  I was just trying to, uhh…”

How Ruby managed to talk after she’d shoved her foot this far in her mouth, it was a wonder.  

“I’ll just.  Leave now.  Sorry, see you later, maybe.”

Before anyone else could say anything, Ruby had semblanced herself out of the room and up the stairs to the roof.

 _I’ll be the best friend your daughter’s ever had!_ Echoed her thoughts as she clambered up her ladder.  Right.  Way easier said than done.  By leagues.

Ruby had never been very good with new people.  She did have friends, but they’d bonded because of circumstances, not by talking and being social.  Plus, her whole job practically required constant isolation, which obviously did not make this socializing thing any easier.

Oh, and of course there was Weiss herself.  Who knew how deep that aloof attitude ran, and how willing she was to keep it up.  And yet...  Ruby couldn’t let herself give up.  Because that’s what had happened in the past, wasn’t it?  Ruby refused to believe no one else had tried to become Weiss’ friend.  Someone must’ve tried, and subsequently given up when faced with Weiss’ apparent disdainful attitude.  But Winter seemed to think Ruby had a chance, and Winter was rarely wrong about things.

Ruby sighed.  Well, nevertheless, first meetings were meant to be built upon, right?  Right.  She could make this work…  At the very least, Weiss wouldn’t forget about her for some time, what with the embarrassing display Ruby had just put on.

Ruby promptly shook the thoughts, and whatever lingering anxiety, right out of her head.  Either way, she had to get to work.  

There wasn’t another attack that day, and so Ruby looked over the land from her roof, and tried not to think of the girl in white far beneath her feet.  She failed, somewhat.

* * *

 

Weiss was not a happy camper.  In fact, she wasn’t a camper at all.  She was comfortably housed in her father’s empty apartment, which happened to be within the factory complex.  After all, her father was married to his job, being driven all the way back to the city just to sleep would be preposterous, especially when he had no friend or family in Patch.  Only business.

The heiress exhaled loudly, letting herself fall onto the bed.  Well, at least she’d have a minimum amount of comfort.  Although, the apartment was definitely a lot smaller than anything she was used to.  And was it just her, or was it oddly cold in here?

Her eyes drifted to the bathroom door.  Maybe a hot bath would help her warm up, as well as clear her mind a little.  Yes, that sounded like a good idea.

Weiss was nervous.  She wasn’t intending to hide that fact from herself.  No matter how many times she convinced herself that she would figure it out, the fact of the matter was that she’d never led a company before. Despite only being expected to do the minimum, despite everyone here proving themselves to be rather kind to her, and even despite knowing that her father was only one call away if things got out of hand…  She was worried.  Anxious.  Terrified, even.  This feeling of utter incompetence hung over her like a dark cloud, ready to engulf her the moment she made a wrong move.  Therefore, Weiss had no doubt that the reason those Grimm had attacked the transport was because of her own thoughts of inadequacy.  People could’ve gotten hurt, people could’ve DIED, and it would have been her fault.  All things considered, this whole thing wasn’t starting off really well.

Wait, she was doing it again.  Overthinking.  Worrying about things she hadn’t even done yet.  As of late, this was happening far too often.

Resolutely, she chased the thoughts away, before replacing them with a simple repetition of _Bath bath, I need to take a bath…  It’ll make me feel better, at least for a bit, I need to take a bath._

She stood, then strided over to the bathroom door, sliding it open.  Well.  That was definitely smaller than what she was accustomed to.  Still, she wouldn’t complain too much, it had been nice of her father to lend her this convenient location to live in, it wasn’t so bad really…

There were no towels.

Weiss proceeded to simply stand there, staring at the empty holder for a few minutes, completely unbelieving.  How…  How could such an obvious, essential item be missing?

She checked in the cupboard under the sink, in the wardrobe, and even under her bed in search of just a single small towel…  No such luck.  What sort of trickery was this?  Who was responsible for it?  Or could it be that her father didn’t…?!?  No, that was not it!  He’d probably just taken his with him and forgotten to get them replaced, or something…

Well.  As this was a necessity, Weiss decided she would have to go out and find some, no matter how awkward that may prove to be,

And so, Weiss stepped out of the apartment and into the hallway, not quite angrily but definitely not happily.  Frustrated, then.  Yes that was it: Weiss kept a steady, frustrated pace as she rounded a corner…

And smashed right into a second body.  

“Hey!  Watch where you’re going!”  Exclaimed Weiss, before she could catch herself.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry! You’re right I wasn’t looking…”  Said the second girl, quickly, as if she hadn’t even taken the time to look up yet.  However, the girl’s tone did not get any less panicked when they finally did make eye contact:

“Weiss!  Uh…  Miss Schnee!  I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to run into you, are you okay?  Did I hurt you?  Oh my god, please, I swear it wasn’t on purpose!!”

The heiress blinked, struggling a little to catch up with the second girl’s fast-paced talking.  Nevertheless, now that there was some space between them, and Weiss could see clearly again, she determined the girl was the Lookout.  Drat, what was her name again?

“Ruby.”  Yes that was it, and the girl -Ruby- seemed to calm down then, somewhat.  At least enough to stop talking a mile a minute.

“Yes?”

“I’m fine, it’s okay.  You mostly just surprised me.”

“Oh.  Well then that’s good.”

There was a moment of silence, which lasted several seconds.  Weiss spent this time debating whether she should say something more.  It wasn’t like there was anything in particular she WANTED to say, but she had a nagging feeling that this empty silence between her and the other girl should be filled.  Was it because the exact same thing had happened the first time?   Perhaps, on some level, Weiss knew she hadn’t been the most pleasant person to Ruby so far, and that seemed…  Improper.  And quite frankly unfair.

She cleared her throat:

“So…  Were you heading somewhere?”

Honestly, with a conversation starter like that, Weiss had to admit she had no right to criticize Ruby’s communication skills.

“Uh yes, actually!  I was heading to my bathroom, to you know.  Shower and stuff.  Get ready for bed.”  There was an almost palpable amount of hesitation before she added:  “What about you?”

“Um.  Same actually, it’s just that there’s.  No towels.  In my bathroom.”

Ruby  took this with apparent surprise:

"None at all?"  When Weiss only shook her head, Ruby continued:  “What, really???  That seems weird!  You know what, follow me for a sec, I’m sure my bathroom has a few extras…”

“That’s, really not necessary I’m sure I can find some…”

But Ruby did not listen, sidestepping the heiress so as to open a door, which led to what was legitimately the smallest bathroom Weiss had ever seen.  Seriously, it was a wonder Ruby could even stand inside of it.  Nevertheless, the lookout pulled an extra coarse towel from her cupboard, just as she’d said she would.  She held it towards Weiss with a wide smile.  With a thank you, the heiress took it from her, albeit a little gingerly.

“No problem!”  Affimred Ruby:  “Don’t hesitate to call me if there’s anything else missing from your room!”

Weiss assured she would, and with a simple “Good night,” she was on her way back to the apartment, and proceeded to take the warmest bath of her life.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things I predicted about Papa Schnee: He has a cold office/bedroom  
> Things I did not predict about Papa Schnee: His name is Jacques??? wtfffffffff
> 
> (Also, researching how cakes are frosted was so relaxing... Did you know there's a difference between icing and frosting? Because I didn't... Glad I accidentally used the right one in the title...)

It had definitely been a little childish of Ruby to think that things would change after that.

It had only been a small moment, a tiny gesture, literally just a ratty old towel she’d fished from under her sink.  But Ruby wasn’t just an optimist, she was an idealist, and to her that seemingly insignificant event would’ve snowballed into the start of what would surely be a glorious friendship.

As it was, real life was a lot plainer.  Nothing changed.  The entire week ended up being exactly the same as every other week, with lots of looking down from her tower, a few Grimm attacks here and there, and plenty of just waiting for time to pass.  It was ridiculous to be disappointed when things went smoothly, exactly like they should, and yet that was exactly how Ruby felt: disappointed.  And maybe even a little sad.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, things were decidedly not as usual for Weiss…  In fact, they wouldn’t be for a while.

“A MONTH?!”  She’d cried at the news.

“Miss Weiss, please check your emotions in check…”  Muttered the young woman’s advisor, Ciel, from the other end of the room.

The secretary on  the other side of the holo-screen nodded in confirmation, and as she did, Weiss swore she could feel _something_ climbing up her own throat.

For a moment, she considered swallowing it down and asking to speak to her father, but she thought better of it.  Her father was busy, surely.  There was no reason for him to personally call his daughter if his secretary could do it in his place.  And so she kept her mouth shut, chased away the thoughts, and made herself listen to the rest of the explanation:

“Despite nobody getting hurt, there was a lot of property damage, as well as some damage to the company records.  Extensive repairs are needed, and Mister Schnee’s presence is primordial to making sure everything's in order.”

Weiss finally managed to make her throat work:  “Yes, of course.  I understand.”

She understood, but…  She’d been told the job wouldn’t take too long, that it would be a question of a week or two.  A month…  That felt like too much.  She thought of spending that much time in her freezing room, of facing a sea of strangers for that long, she thought of how the slightest wrong move could ruin her family, how it could ruin all of _Vale_ …

“...In the event that this sounds like too much, I’m sure I could convince your father to send another advisor.  Would that be convenient to you?”

Weiss thought about it.  She thought of sharing that burden with someone else, therefore alleviating the weight on her own shoulders.  Of course it sounded convenient.  But…

Her eyes fell on the advisor in the room.

No.  She couldn’t ask for this.  Another advisor would be another proof that she couldn’t stand on her own, another pair of eyes to see her fail, another disappointment to everyone who should care about her…

“That won’t be necessary, I’m sure I can handle things myself just fine.”  Her words held only the slightest of tremors.

“The offer still stands, in case you change your mind.  On that note, miss Weiss, I wish you a good day.”

Weiss opened her mouth to respond, but the video feed cut out the moment her voice emerged.

She stood, staring at the blank screen for a few moments more, before slowly sinking in her father’s plush leather chair.

She could do this.  She _would_ do this.  She had to.

“Miss Weiss?”

The heiress forced her back straight, and her eyes to her advisor’s face: “Yes?”

“The finishing touches of a special delivery are scheduled to be made this evening.  It might be wise to ensure that it is up to our company’s standards, through personal supervision.”

Weiss’ brows furrowed in puzzlement:  “Do I even have the time for that?”

The advisor’s stylus swiped across her tablet, and she smiled:  “Now you do.  We’ll head downstairs in an hour.  In the meantime, I sent you a document detailing our usual standards for such orders, please review it.”  Then, before Weiss could say anything else, Ciel whipped around and left the office.

Ruby’s words from a few days ago suddenly came back to her:   _I want to help._ Somehow, what Ciel had just done felt similar in spirit…  A lot less direct, for sure, but still.

Maybe, just maybe, Weiss wasn’t as alone as she thought she was.

* * *

 

It would soon be time to go home.  Ruby had watched the early bus rounds come and go, and her turn was on its way.  But first, the young girl felt it wise to make use of her perks as an employee; a free loaf of bread, straight out of the oven, perfect to bring home and share with her family.

And so, Ruby had been on her way to the employee breadline when she stumbled on a blocked corridor.  The way was filled with a small crowd of people, standing so tightly together that she couldn’t see the other side…  And immediately, Ruby’s mind flashed back to her school days, to the packs that would form around fist-fights.  This did not look like good news.

She ran to the edge of the crowd, craning her neck to see if she could catch a glimpse of what was going on…  No such luck.

“What’s happening?” She asked the person next to her, grabbing their arm, just to make sure she had their attention.

“Shhh…  It’s miss Schnee…”

WEISS???

Ruby did not waste time starting to push people aside, forcing her way forward.  There were a few protests, but they eventually seemed to let her pass once they noticed she was entirely serious.

Once she’d reached what seemed to be the epicentre of the crowd, Ruby found herself facing…  A window.  A window into the next room, through which she could see Weiss, icing one of the biggest cakes Ruby had ever seen.  

“Oh…”  She heard herself say, sheepish.

The woman next to her giggled:

“We’re not doing anything wrong, are we, miss security guard?”

The other employees laughed, and Ruby felt her face become as red as her cape.

“...Sorry, it’s just that crowds don’t usually happen in baking factories…”

“Well, we don’t usually have the opportunity to watch a master at work!”

“A…  Master?”

The woman giggled again:

“Don’t you know?  Miss Weiss is amazing at frosting cakes!  They say it’s a family gift, but not even her father has ever reached the level of expertise she shows!”

...Really?  Weiss, a legendary cake froster?  From the (admittedly little) Ruby knew about baking, frosting required not only a steady hand and a good eye, but also an immense amount of patience…  The latter of which wasn’t exactly something Ruby associated with the heiress.

Her gaze drifted back to the girl, who was currently producing what looked like a frosting rose, before adding on a few leaves in an impressive-looking flourish.

“Well then, why are you guys looking at her from outside?  Wouldn’t it be easier to tell what and how she’s doing if you’re closer up?”

“Oh, but we don’t want to bother Miss Schnee!”

“We’d be ruining her concentration.”

Ruby’s eyebrows furrowed.  That was no good!  If they wanted to learn, they should at least ask…

Weiss had turned around to refill one of her piping bags, and Ruby saw her chance.  Before anyone could stop her, she casually walked to the door, opened it, and stepped in.

The heiress looked up from her work, surprised.  This surprise only seemed to grow as she saw it was the lookout who’d come in.

“Ruby?  What are you doing here?”

“Oh you know me…  I’m just curious.”

It took a half beat for Ruby to remember that Weiss did not in fact, know her.

“…Curious about what?”

"Well, I’ve never seen a cake being frosted by hand before…”

Weiss threw the piping bag onto the table with a splat:

“Isn’t it just the most scandalous thing??  How dare they!  Machine-frosting a wedding cake…  It’s practically a crime!  A wedding cake deserves a personal touch!  Those things are important!  It’s what divides an alright company from an excellent one!  Anything made for such an important event as this should be customized for the client!”

…Wow.  That had not been what Ruby had expected to hear.  At _all_.

“…I didn’t know you cared that much about weddings…”

Weiss spluttered a little, before picking up her piping bag once more, and edging the cake with tiny little frosting shells:

“Well I…  Care about the integrity of my father’s company.  It seems rather cheap to sell the same cake, over and over, for these types of occasion…  Even more so if they’re right on the island!”

“That makes sense.  Especially when we don’t have that many weddings in the first place.”  There was brief moment of silence, before another realization set in:  “Wait, who’s getting married?”

Ruby pressed a finger to her chin.  She knew most everyone on Patch, at least by face…  She should know who it was that was getting…  “Ah!  This is team CFVY’s wedding cake!  That’s why it’s so big, it’s a team wedding!”

Weiss did not answer, and instead kept right on icing.  Ruby guessed she didn’t really know anyone who lived here yet, so she didn’t blame her.

“…So, since when have you been frosting cakes?”

Weiss exhaled a sigh, but it seemed to be more out of amusement than exasperation:

“Well you see, when your family owns a baking company, it’s pretty much one of the first skills you’re taught, whether you like it or not.”

“…Oh.”

 An image flashed through Ruby’s mind of a tiny white-haired toddler, holding an equally sized piping bag, making tiny frosted roses on a tiny cookie as she stood on top of a tiny chair…

“I only became really good at it once I was thirteen though.  I was never really the patient type…”  completed Weiss as she switched bags and started adding more leaves to her creation.

“How do you make these?”

Ruby pointed at one of the dainty-looking frosting roses.

“Oh, those are easy!  Come over here, look…”

Ruby hesitantly took a step closer, and watched as Weiss pointed to the metal bit of her bag:

“Notice how it’s curved?"

Ruby nodded, and watched as Weiss approached the bit to the cake, and ever so slowly sarted squeezing on the bag.  The icing had barely made contact with the cake that Weiss moved it away again.

“That’s how you make a petal.  And if you want a flower…”

Weiss repeated the motion, again and again, circling that first petal and spiraling outwards, until the mass of icing looked decisively rose-shaped.

“…you just add more.”

Ruby stared at the flower, trying to figure out how a simple shape had evolved into one that looked so complicated.

“But it’s so…  Delicate.  How aren't you afraid to ruin it?  I mean, one wrong move and…”

 Weiss laughed.  Actually, no joke, started laughing.  Not very loud of course, and not for very long, but there was something about this serious girl laughing that hit Ruby as…  Endearing.  Heartwarming even.  Huh.

“Practice, mostly.  But it’s really not as complicated as you think…  Here, why don’t you try it?”

Ruby had to resist the urge to dash off as Weiss turned the piping bag to her.  No this…  She had no formation!  She hadn’t even washed her hands!  …But she couldn’t say no either.

“Is there a sink here, or…?”

“Oh!  Yes of course, it’s right over there,”  Answered Weiss, gesturing.

As Ruby made her way towards it, she spared a glance to the employees still at the window, who stared back at her in complete disbelief.  Ruby winked (she just couldn’t resist), washed her hands, and walked back to Weiss, who handed her the bag.

“Okay…  Where should I put it?”

Weiss gave the cake a once-over, spun it around a little…

“How about here!  Just to balance it out a bit…  That way it doesn’t matter if it ends up bigger.”

Ruby thought of asking exactly what she meant by this, but decided the answer would probably make even less sense.

“And I just…  Squeeze the bag?”

“Yes….  Lightly!  Though!  I just refilled it!  You want to avoid to get too much on there.  It’s easier to add more than to remove some, you know?”

Ruby nodded, as if she did know, despite the fact that she did _not_ know.  She could imagine, but she did not know.

Slowly, carefully, holding her breath, she tried to mimic Weiss’ movement.  A gob here, the first petal, the center of the flower…  Another one here, and here, and here…  And just when she thought she’d started to get it, the frosting stopped coming out.

“…Ummmmm…?”

“It might be stuck, just shake it a bit…”

Ruby did, but unfortunately overestimated the meaning of “a bit”.  A string of frosting flew out the bag, half onto the floor, and half onto her own face.  She exclaimed in surprise as the pink sugar landed squarely on her nose.

She heard a snort.

And then Weiss was laughing again, louder and clearer, her eyes crinkled, her smile wide.  Ah.  There it was.  The famed Schnee beauty.

“I’m sorry, I don’t really know what I’m doing…”  Started Ruby, before she too, dissolved in laughter.

The heiress laughed even harder when Ruby attempted to wipe off her face, and only managed to smear it further.

Once Weiss had calmed down, she offered to take the bag away, and to get some paper towels.  Ruby nodded as best she could without sending icing anywhere else.  She’d already made a mess, it would be better if she at least tried not to add to it.

The other girl came back with the towels, and Ruby held her hand out to take them…  But Weiss stepped in, right in front of her, and carefully started dabbing at the other girl’s face.

Ruby felt like she was suddenly about to erupt.  What…  Was this?  Why?

Before she could freak out any further though, Weiss stepped away, seeming as nervous as Ruby felt.

“S…  Sorry, I just thought it might be easier, if…  I did it…  At least you’re sure it’s all gone, right?”

“Right, yeah…”

Where they had once felt comfortable, there was now a layer of familiar awkwardness.  Or, perhaps not familiar.  Just…  Odlly closer than it should have been.

“I’ll just.  Finish it, if you don’t mind.”

Ruby chuckled, trying to sound casual:  “Yeah of course!  No worries, I know I messed it up bad…”

In three or two motions, Weiss completely arranged the flower, fixing Ruby’s mistakes as she went.

“Well, it certainly wasn’t as bad as my first time!”

“Oh?  How bad was that?”  Ruby couldn’t help but ask.

“Let’s just say I hugely overestimated the amount of pressure I needed to use, and ended up emptying the entire bag on a single cupcake.”

“Really??”

Ruby brought up the image of tiny baby Weiss again, this time in front of a cupcake completely covered in frosting.

“Really.  Everyone refused to eat it.  So guess who got stuck with it, and ended up puking blue for the rest of the day?”

They both laughed once more…  And Ruby abruptly remembered that she also had family, and that they were waiting for her to get home, and that Ruby likely had to leave right now if she wanted to grab her bread and get on the bus.  Before she did though…

“By the way, I don’t know if you noticed, but…  We kinda have a crowd?”

Weiss’ gaze followed Ruby’s hand motion, and she nodded.

“Yes, I did notice.  I…  Have no idea what they want.”

“Well…  I bet they’d be pretty happy if you showed them what you showed me!  I mean, they’re the ones who told me you were a master…”

"That’s!  I mean…  It’s not that special…”

“Would you do it, though?  That way, future wedding cakes could be made by hand, keeping up the Weiss-level of approval!  What do you say?”

Weiss tilted her head to the side:

"When you put it that way , it would be foolish not to, wouldn’t it?  Very well, let them in.”

Ruby nodded excitedly, before promptly opening the door:

“HEY!  Weiss wants to show you guys how she does it!”

She had to step out of the way so as not to get trampled by the crowd, so eager were they to enter. Once they’d gathered around Weiss, Ruby could barely see the top of her ponytail poking out from the crowd.

“Well, I’ll be on my way…  Good luck!”

Weiss was so occupied with instructing the mass that she did not pay any attention to Ruby’s farewell.  That was fine.  She had her hands full now, after all.

And so, loaf of bread in hand, Ruby boarded the bus heading to Patch’s town, all the while looking out at the dark woods on either side of the road.  She did not see any of the Grimm.  Whatever had agitated them at the beginning of the week, it seemed to have gone away.

 

               

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you liked the chapter!
> 
> Unfortunately, I have an announcement to make. I know updates on this fic have been... Sparse, to say the least. But the truth is, my love for RWBY has been steadily declining. I don't really care for the direction season 4 is taking, and I have no real interest to keep watching. It makes me sad, because I do genuinely still like Weiss and Ruby and Yang etc... But I'm starting to see that's not gonna be enough to pull me through.
> 
> This isn't necessarily the end for Frosting Roses though! There are still a few chapters I really want to write out, fluffy scenes I want to get to... It's just not gonna be as long or as grand as I'd first intended it to be. I'd also add that you shouldn't expect those too soon, but I think you guys have gotten used to that..
> 
> You guys have been nothing but supportive of this fic, and I'm so incredibly thankful of that, so I thought it would be only fair for me to be honest. And who knows? Maybe I'll see you guys again in another fandom!
> 
> (If you want more details on dropped plot points and such come yell at me on my tumblr: http://saltmasterreigen.tumblr.com/)


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